Please don't pull away
by keriilurve
Summary: There is something between Anita and Ivan, she can feel it. But she's always wondered if he felt the same. When his little brother and her best friend help out at the farm, though, she might get the answer she's been looking for. oneshot


**A/N: I didn't want to keep sticking with Denny and Chelsea as my fanfic couple, so I wrote a little oneshot about Anita (or Gretel) and Ivan (since I married him on Grand Bazaar). Hope you like it. I'm not 100% confident with it, but, oh well :P Please R&R with your thoughts.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest moon or any of it's characters or settings**

Anita tucked the last ball of wool under her arm before swinging the door of the windmill open again and feeling the evening breeze of Spring tug at her golden hair. The river trickled in front of her as the branches of the surrounding trees rustled in the wind. The hotel was behind her, tall in structure and grand in personality – no wonder it was bustling with customers before the bazaar at the weekend. Anita had employed the help of two of her friends that afternoon as she'd gone round, picking up flowers and nuts before fermenting them in the surrounding windmills of the town. The sky was darkening slightly now, as she stepped out of the windmill with her last produce of the day and stretched a bit, gently placing them in her ever heavier bag. A swift look at her watch told her it was just gone half past five pm and she would need to be heading back to her farmhouse to check that everything had gone smoothly.

Anita closed her eyes for one last moment, taking a deep breath in and enjoying the last of Spring. After all, it would be Summer in five days and she would have to stock up from the shop for Summer crops.

"Anita?" a calm voice broke through the sound of the chirping birds. Opening her eyes quickly, Anita was met with the smiling lips and brown hair that swept over almost purple eyes. His deep purple collar tugged in the breeze, the tail of his jacket swaying slightly as he stood before her.

"Ivan," Anita let her smile form with his as she gazed into his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Ivan laughed a little, loosening his almost lilac bowtie from around his neck, "Just coming home from tutoring. You look busy."

Anita laughed a little before heaving the bag with all her produce for the bazaar in it, barely lifting it off the soft grass. "I am," she smirked, before letting go of the bag, and stretching her arm a little, to ease the stretching from lifting such a weight.

"Do you want help with that," Ivan nodded towards the bag before sauntering over to it and lifting it up with one arm, without waiting for any answer. He was closer to her now and she could see the hint of a spark in his eyes and the way his cheeks tugged up the way as he smiled.

Shuffling her feet a little, noticing her tightening stomach with his proximity, Anita muttered a little, "Thanks," before grinning to cover up her sudden reaction to him. Ivan had been the first man to catch her eye when she'd arrived at the village. There had just been something about him; something so mature and kind and loving. And something very handsome. He'd smiled that smile and she had been captivated and from then on, there wasn't a day she hadn't talked to him since.

Creasing the material of his deep purple jacket at his shoulder as he got a proper, strong hold of the bag, Ivan raised his eyebrows to her a little before his lips curved upwards once again, as if inviting her to walk with him. Anita caught into step with him quickly, shaking herself from her fluttering thoughts, and skipped alongside the man she had admired for a year and a half.

"So, how were the kids today?" She chirped, reminding herself again that Ivan went into the city to tutor on Tuesdays. They passed the main town pretty quickly as the street lights flicked on like fireflies dancing along the river's ripples. The bridge that crossed over to the main square, surrounded by the cosy houses, along with the café to the left and Raul's shop on the right, creaked as the water lapped at it's heels.

"Good, as always," Ivan nodded, catching Anita's gaze as she it had travelled towards his face, watching the way the strands of his hair traced along his cheeks and the back of his neck. He was so optimistic and that was another aspect Anita loved about him. He never had a bad word to say about anyone, except, rarely himself. And that was only because he cared about his brother.

The pair slipped passed the town, seeing the familiar little house nestled between trees and in front of a flowing waterfall. The sound of it falling into the pool below was always relaxing but this time, nothing seemed to ease the butterflies flapping in her stomach. Above the waterfall, Anita could make out the soft movements of blades of the windmill, churning around and around in the air, and framing the other side, a slope that lead up to her farm, one that she climbed up continuously everyday. If she were to choose, she preferred going down the way to up, even though, every time she would make that trip up the way, she knew she would be met with the sight of her warm, comforting house.

A glimpse of a man heading back into the house just below the waterfall caught Anita before she heard a cheery, "Evening, Lloyd," from the man beside her. Lloyd, in his robe like clothes and bandanna, nodded towards Ivan and Anita before heading inside for the night. Ivan's eyes glinted with a kind of contentment that Anita wished she possessed and before she knew it, she had pondered all her way back to the farmhouse.

"Well, here we are," Ivan smiled, placing the heavy bag down for a moment to regain his strength, before he made that journey up the path, into the house. "Where do you want me to put everything?" His lilac eyes swept over to Anita before a cheer of a shout broke their gaze.

"Come back here, you little- Anita will be mad if she finds out you're still outside when she comes back!" A short boy with maroon clothes, along with a matching hat, ran around in Anita's back field, a sheep with it's coat shaved off, trying it's best to get as far away from him as possible.

Anita heard a ripple of a laugh beside her and she joined in too, watching Ivan's younger brother trying to get the sheep back into it's barn for the night. Walking slightly away from her company for a moment, Anita went to have a closer look at Dirk making a fool of himself before planning to help him get the sheep in. A figure leaning his back against the chicken coop's fence startled her, though, and she shot her eyes down to the man spreading his legs out before him. His orange cap fitted onto those long, curly locks of hair, and a sketch pad rested in his lap. Glancing up, he caught her gaze with a sheepish smile and trailed his laughter off before whimpering a little, "I swear I was going to help."

Grinning at her best friend, Anita shook her head and smiled, watching Dirk's hat fly off before throwing himself onto the ground in a huff. "I see you've done all my crops," Anita mocked in a teacher kind of way before plucking Angelo's orange cap from his head and chuckling as she turned back towards Ivan. "Hey!" she heard Angelo's all too familiar cry but didn't pay too much attention, linking her gaze onto Ivan's.

"Sorry about that," she smiled and noticed he didn't have the bag with him anymore. Before she could mention it, he replied, "I put everything away in your store. I hope that's okay."

Blinking, Anita was surprised but soon nodded heartily, shaking her blonde hair from under her hat. "Thanks," she said, sweeping past him to avoid him seeing any blush, and called one of her dog's that had decided to wander around in her maize crops. As soon as the animal arrived, she crouched down, resting Angelo's hat over it's forehead and muttered, "Go show Dirk how it's done." Smiling, she watched as it barked away, stumbling over the hat before shaking it off towards Angelo's sitting form and leaping over to help Dirk.

Anita could feel Ivan's heat behind her before she turned around and met his gaze. "Do you want to come in?" She blurted out before stuttering as her eyes broke away from his. "I mean, since you helped me and all. I could make you some tea-"

"That would be nice," Ivan kindly interrupted to save her from flustering herself, using that all too familiar eye smile. Melting a little, Anita opened her door and invited him in.

"Make yourself at home," she said before rushing off into the kitchen to make him some hot, herbal tea. "The cat's might be in the way, though." She heard a slight laughter before hearing a creak of her bed and knowing that he'd used it as a seat, especially since she saw no need for any seats in her house because she was always out, working with the farm. The tea was soon ready and she carried it through steadily to be met with Ivan's form sitting on the edge of her bed with a white ball of a cat curled up on his lap. He seemed pleasantly captivated by the little animal as it took a few moments for him to notice Anita standing in front of him.

"Oh, sorry," he laughed sheepishly a little before nodding a thank you as she handed him the tea. Politely, he took a sip and Anita watched his eyes lit up at the taste. "This is wonderful! Best herbal tea I've had in a while!"

"Oh, stop it," Anita shied away, slowly sitting beside him, purposely being so close to him that she felt the movement of his arm sweep against the side of her body, making her skin tingle.

"No, really," he turned his body towards her. Her cat stirred in his lap before deciding it wasn't such a good sleeping spot after all and jumped off. "It's that good."

Feeling pleased with herself, Anita thanked him, trying to hide her blush and waited for him to finish so she had a reason to go back into the kitchen and calm herself down. Yet, he seemed to be taking his time and Anita could feel the heat rising up into her cheeks with every second she saw him so close to her, and felt him move beside her. With every moment, her body tingled with anticipation and nerves, waiting for what he would say next. And with every word he did say, she felt herself blush even more.

"I- er-" she stuttered, jerking herself up from the bed suddenly. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Anita was about to run off to the rest room before she felt a sudden hand clutch her wrist. "Wait," Ivan said, his voice now slightly worried. "Wait a second." He let go of her wrist for a moment to rest the cup against her duvet covers and then turned to rest his hands on her shoulders. "There's something up with you today. What is it?"

He could tell? Oh, crap, he'd noticed? But wasn't it like this every time she was with him? No, she was never this nervous; because she was never this alone with him. "It's just-" she began, thinking up a plausible excuse. "I'm just worried about the bazaar this week."

Ivan studied her face for a moment before shaking his head, not letting go of her shoulders. "No, you're never worried about the bazaar. You're always so excited about it."

He'd got her there, but could she really tell him the real reason.

"Is it because..." Anita watched Ivan look away for a moment, looking almost as if he didn't want to say what he did next. "There is someone who's making you so distant?"

Was that what he thought she was right then? Distant? She thought she looked more like a freak who was slowly turning into a red tomato.

"It is that then." He sighed when Anita gave him no answer. Dropping his hands, he raised his eyebrows a little in dismay and showed a small smile. "Who is he?" He asked, as if he already knew the answer.

Anita blinked a little, her cheeks slowly cooling down as Ivan's hands broke contact with her shoulders.

"What?" she stuttered. "How did you-"

"I know you're just trying to act like it doesn't matter but Dirk told me you knew, and it wasn't like I could lie but you seemed like, ever since he told you, you've been pulling away from me," Ivan breathed, slumping his shoulders a little. "And, I mean, I've tried to stop myself but you're always there and every one talks so much about you, I just can't help it." He slowly brought his eyes back to her shocked ones and looked helpless.

Anita furrowed her brow a little before saying, confused, "Wait- What are you talking about?"

Ivan's eyes widened then and Anita finally saw his cheeks rise up in a blush. "You mean, he didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Anita asked cautiously.

"That I like you."

The moment then seemed to freeze and her breath caught in her throat. Did she just hear what she thought she did? This wasn't another one of her confession dreams, was it. No, because her dreams were never this vivid. They never caught the way Ivan's hair caressed over his skin and the way his jaw perked up as he blinked at her, and the way his eyes were so dark when he was this close to her. And the way her heart just couldn't stop racing.

"No..." She whispered. "He never told me that..."

Ivan seemed to take a long breath before lifting a hand to scratch behind his neck, not saying anything more but, "Oh."

His face was bright with pink now and his voice was getting caught up by nerves and embarrassment and with every second he said nothing, Anita felt like she wanted to say more and more.

"But," She said finally, entwining her fingers together. "It's nice to know." Her lips raised in a smile before saying, "I mean, I wanted to know that. I've always wanted to know."

Ivan's eyes brightened up as he gaze down towards her, widening a little as her words must have dawned on him. "You mean..." his voice was breaking now as Anita watched him try to force the words out.

"I mean, I like you too," She finally said, strangely feeling relieved that the words had slipped from her lips. Yet, her day dreams had never consisted of the word, "too" at the end of her confession. "It really was you who was making me so quiet today," She continued, trying to drag her eyes away from his gaze so she didn't have to say it while looking at him. "Not because I wanted to avoid you or whatever, but... because you make me feel, so, well-" Anita couldn't seem to get the right words out and she began scrambling in her brain for them.

A sudden hand against her cheek stopped her though and the fingers brought her face up to look back at Ivan, his lips closer to hers now as he showed her that beautiful smile of his, and she felt his breath dance across her skin when he said, "It's okay, I understand."

And that's when she felt his lips touch hers, the glimpse his eye lashes pressing against his skin being the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes and melted into the kiss. It was sweet, soft, but long awaited and Anita loved the way his hands cupped her cheeks, gently but firmly at the same time. And she adored the way his lips felt so velvety on hers, moving slowly and enchanting hers. His hands soon moved from her cheeks down to her waist and softly pulled her to him as she felt lost in the moment. It had been so long that Anita had waited to feel this, and she finally had – and it was more than she'd ever imagined.

The sound of a gust of wind followed by a cry of, "Finally!" broke the kiss and Anita shot her gaze around to see who had interrupted her moment. Dirk leaned against the door frame a happy grin on his face while Angelo clutched his sketchpad to his side, smiling contently, the cap he must have rescued from Anita's dog now covered in grass and fitted onto his head.

"Sorry I lied, Ivan," Dirk's grin turned a little sheepish as he laughed a little, "I just had to get you to tell her somehow! You never were going to do it otherwise."

Anita grinned with Dirk and felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and squeeze her to Ivan's body.

"I guess you're right," Ivan nodded, and she could hear his chuckle vibrate through his chest ever so slightly. His eyes soon looked down at her with a deep smile and Anita felt happy as he added, "It was definitely worth it."

Anita gazed back up at him and curled herself into his embrace and barely heard him say to his brother and company, "Now, would you guys finally leave so we can get on with what we were doing?"

Dirk laughed in the background, slipping back with Angelo down the path away from the farm house while Ivan turned Anita around again to look into her face, the moment captivating. The sound of Ivan's brother calling out from far off was barely audible now as Ivan slowly leaned his lips once again towards hers.

"See you tonight, brother!" Dirk laughed, shouting from the end of the path, with Angelo at his heels. Anita smiled into Ivan's eyes before closing them as she felt his kiss meet her lips. "Or not."


End file.
